{"product_id":"2026100010899-secondhand-truant-surgeon-the-inside-story-of-forty-years-of-australian-political-life","title":"Truant Surgeon: The Inside Story Of Forty Years Of Australian Political Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Fair\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket - some marks on spine and corners\u003cbr\u003ePages: Yellowed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew figures in Australian political history commanded as many roles as Sir Earle Page — surgeon, statesman, and co-architect of the modern coalition government — and Truant Surgeon stands as his remarkable, unvarnished account of four turbulent decades at the heart of Australian public life. Spanning the interwar years, the Great Depression, and the crucible of World War II, this memoir chronicles Page's extraordinary journey from a rural medical practice in New South Wales to the corridors of federal power in Canberra, where he served as leader of the Country Party and, briefly, as Prime Minister of Australia in 1939. With candour and conviction, he uncovers the back-room negotiations, fierce parliamentary battles, and defining personalities — from Billy Hughes to Robert Menzies — that shaped the nation's political character, presenting a rare insider's perspective that no official record could replicate.\n\nEdited posthumously by Ann Mozley and published by the venerable Angus and Robertson, this work is an indispensable primary source for students of Australian political history and an engrossing narrative for the general reader alike. Page's voice is forthright and authoritative, reflecting the pragmatic idealism of a man who believed medicine and politics were twin instruments of national wellbeing. Truant Surgeon argues implicitly that the most consequential leaders are those who never abandon their original vocation — a conviction that leaves the reader wondering just how much of Australia's twentieth-century identity was shaped by a doctor who refused to stay in his consulting room.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50572627345627,"sku":"2026100010899-SECONDHAND","price":25.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/ce6ba35d-5948-4b75-a863-ef201e31da80.png?v=1791167037","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100010899-secondhand-truant-surgeon-the-inside-story-of-forty-years-of-australian-political-life","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}